Once my business is fully set up and sales begin to climb of
the Ring Thing and a few other spin-off items, I will eventually step back from
the day to day operations. I suspect it
will take 4 to 5 years to make my brand a household name and to develop the
additional items in the line. At that point, I will turn over operations to my
sons who will run and grow the business. I will be available for consultation
and will keep a close eye on product development, but more so as a hobby rather
than an active participant. Keeping the business in the family is important to
me initially as a tool for my sons to gain real world experience. I would take
a reasonable percent of the business profits to be able to enjoy a comfortable
but not overly extravagant lifestyle. Simply
not being tied down to a true occupation is what I am after, and having a
stream of income from the business is key. If my sons wanted to move on and
sell the company after a proven track record, I will feel like I did my job and
share in the profits equally.
This sort of hands off attitude that I expect to enjoy down
the road absolutely influenced my opportunity identification. I was looking for
a simple creation that can be universally marketed and will become a common
household necessity. The same applies to any product line extensions. The fun
is in the research and development and then they will pretty much sell
themselves. I prefer to look at this venture as a lucrative hobby and not
something that steals away my time, energy, and happiness. Nothing in my
opinion is worth that!
I love the fact that you are going to turn this over to your sons and keep the business in the family. Most people would be tempted to sell to a major corporation, however, I do not think this is always the best alternative. While the pay out in the short run may be bigger, I believe there is something to be said about family owned and operated businesses, especially those that contain multiple generations.
ReplyDeleteJeff,
ReplyDeleteI am honestly going to miss viewing your posts in this class. I think your exit strategy is super fantastic. I think your sons would love to have this passed down to them and then to their children one day. I agree with Chris there is something to be said for family ran businesses. I automatically feel more trustworthy to businesses like that. It makes me feel like there are some things that bring back the good ol days if that makes sense. I would be selling my idea as my exit strategy although your strategy is the best thing when you are able to do so. Nice work this semester, Jeff!
Jeff, I think its great that you want to share your company with your kids and how you want them to have real life experiences with the company. I think its great and I wish every father was like you, my father is the same way and I think its great to have parents who support you so much that they will trust you with the family company, because you guys trust that kids just like me will do our best to keep it running. Great Job!
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